Ukrainian media conglomerate 1+1 Media Group has installed an ANDIAMO.XT AES/MADI converter and two M.1k2 MADI routing systems from DirectOut as the audio core in its brand new eight-floor TV Center. In addition, a number of ANDIAMO.XT AES/MADI converters have been fitted in two of its OB vans, which have been converted to full HD facilities. 1+1 Media Group comprises eight Ukrainian TV channels and also includes a fully-fledged production company.
“This is the first time we have worked with DirectOut, and they couldn’t have been more helpful,” affirmed Aleksey Marko, head of Procurement for 1+1 Media. “It’s rather a long story and of course our political situation has not helped matters, but the short version is, that having purchased an Evertz video router for the new TV Center, we needed a solution to be able to combine all of our audio devices with the router. Our audio engineer, Alex Stremovskiy, did a lot of research and came across DirectOut who seemed to offer what we were looking for. DirectOut’s rapid and detailed responses to our questions gave us the confidence to buy on spec, and we are extremely pleased with our decision. The equipment is technically sophisticated, robust and stable, and offers us a huge amount of flexibility and scalability in our routing choices where we have equipment from Riedel (MediorNet), Artist, Studer, Soundcraft, Calrec and of course Evertz and DirectOut all on the same network. It’s also much more cost-effective than a number of other options we considered and the back-up and technical support we have received from DirectOut is second to none.”
As a result, when it came to specifying equipment for the OB van upgrades to full HD, the 1+1 Media technical department opted for DirectOut’s ANDIAMO.XT AES/MADI converters and breakout boxes. “We could have used the dedicated Calrec solution as they supplied the consoles for the upgrade, but having already used the DirectOut converters in another guise, we knew them to be extremely high quality, 100 per cent reliable, and again, much more cost-effective, and so ultimately a much more satisfactory solution for us. We have three ANDIAMO.XT devices in total, each equipped with sample rate converters on the AES inputs, and with BNC/SC ports for the Alfacam van with switchable converter sensitivity of up to +18dBu. They work perfectly and I’m delighted to count DirectOut as one of our key suppliers.”
“It was a surprise for us when 1+1 actually placed their first order as they were going purely on spec,” recalled DirectOut’s Jan Ehrlich. “Very quickly we recognised that 1+1 Media was looking for flexible and reliable solutions to interface between different systems and formats. Given that our equipment was at the heart of their installation in the TV Center, a perfect integration and interaction right from the start was mandatory. We are proud to have earned their confidence for this and future projects.”
